Freezing hops?

[mr_bridger]

OK so I've been brewing a while, and never (somehow) come across freezing hops until now. Does everyone freeze their hops? I have shed loads and no way it's all fitting in the freezer [emoji58]

I figured if they were unopened vac sealed bags they were fine. Dunno what to do with them all now. Lol. [emoji53] I'm assuming they weren't frozen when they were at the shop!?

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[braziliain]

I freeze mine, usually as soon as they arrive. I'm small batch brewing though so they don't take up too much room.

 

[Fore]

I vac pac & freeze. Low oxygen & low temperature. I mix up my brews, so end up with hops I might not finish off for a year or so. Did some reading years ago on the subject and could find no common belief that flavour or aroma is negatively affected by freezing, only that it prolongs useful life. I was sold. I freeze my yeast also.

If I understand right, the distributors store hops just below freezing. It's the shops that don't freeze them.

 

[mr_bridger]

Hmm. I have over 2kg of hops "in stock" about 1.6kg of those are still unopened vac packs.

I always try and seal opened bags back up as best I can, probably more important to get those ones in the freezer.

The rest will probably need to go at least in the garage where it's cooler.

It's odd, as some shops are selling 2014 harvest hops that no doubt aren't kept cold, and from what I'm reading, these could already be no good? Many packs i buy have like 3 year best before dates.!

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[IainM]

Yeah I freeze all mine.

 

[Pawlo7671]

I just keep em in the fridge, I use pellets. If i get a good crop of my cascade plants then i'l freeze them

 

[mr_bridger]

I best start throwing all the food away then! [emoji23]

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[Fore]

Hmm. I have over 2kg of hops "in stock" about 1.6kg of those are still unopened vac packs.

I always try and seal opened bags back up as best I can, probably more important to get those ones in the freezer.

The rest will probably need to go at least in the garage where it's cooler.

It's odd, as some shops are selling 2014 harvest hops that no doubt aren't kept cold, and from what I'm reading, these could already be no good? Many packs i buy have like 3 year best before dates.!

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They'll start deteriorating from day 1. Freezing just slows the deterioration rate. But unless they smell bad, they'll still be usable, but maybe just lost a few of the stated AA% points and some aroma. But it's not critical; you could always add a bit more. And maybe this years hop harvest will have 1 or 2% less AA than last years average, so last years unopened non-frozen hops would still have more punch than this years fresh hops (made up to illustrate the point). I freeze as I have no reason not to.

 

[Gerryjo]

I only freeze after opening and that's if the packet isn't finished at the time.

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[DoctorMick]

I only freeze after opening and that's if the packet isn't finished at the time.

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Same here, never considered freezing before opening. Mine stay in the garage pre-opening so at least they're in a cool environment.

 

[Leon103]

You could use a fridge.

Any decent homebrew shop should be keeping their hops in a chilled area. That's why I prefer buying my hops from either HBC or geterbrewed, I have hops from elsewhere and they haven't been the same quality.

 

[jceg316]

I freeze my hops and once opened I find it makes a huge difference. Once opened I also vacuum seal.

 

[Deadhead]

I only freeze after opening and that's if the packet isn't finished at the time.

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Me too.
Between lots of ice packs for when chilling doesn't seem to work as quick as I want and hops, I pretty much have room left for a bag of frozen peas.
At least when I get said bag of frozen peas, I get a pleasant smell of hops!

 

[dps51]

I can not see the need to freeze if they are vac pac which would keep them fresh
I don't freeze mine I just re-vac pac if I got some over

 

[chesters-mild]

I only freeze after opening and that's if the packet isn't finished at the time.

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Yep - same here
Cheers!

 

[mr_bridger]

Definitely two main schools of thought here. I think i need to "sniff test" my open packs, and then find room for any opened packs that are still good and freeze those. Definitely not got the room for all unopened packs.

A vac pack doodat might be a good investment for me tho.

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[dps51]

Definitely two main schools of thought here. I think i need to "sniff test" my open packs, and then find room for any opened packs that are still good and freeze those. Definitely not got the room for all unopened packs.

A vac pack doodat might be a good investment for me tho.

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this is the vac pac machine I have which I have had for 3 years
http://www.jmldirect.com/kitchen/kitchen-accessories/food-sealer-vacuum-heat-sealer-machine/

 

[Druncan]

Although I'm nearly all pellets now, they and the dried yeast stay in the freezer. I try to stock rotate using oldest first and reseal with bag clips. Steeping grains and LME are in the fridge. Surprisingly LME still pours fine 2-6*C. I am also now very careful on getting the freshest LME possible.

 

[jceg316]

Definitely two main schools of thought here. I think i need to "sniff test" my open packs, and then find room for any opened packs that are still good and freeze those. Definitely not got the room for all unopened packs.

A vac pack doodat might be a good investment for me tho.

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As most my malts come in plastic bags and I buy crushed, I use my vac packer for malts as well.

 

[mr_bridger]

this is the vac pac machine I have which I have had for 3 years
http://www.jmldirect.com/kitchen/kitchen-accessories/food-sealer-vacuum-heat-sealer-machine/

See a couple on Amazon for 30 quid with decent reviews, with hops costing 7 quid a pop, it could make its money back quickly. Cheers. 👍

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